Taken for granted

Most of us have heard the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt.” But after what happened to Lori yesterday, we’ve come to realize that indifference is probably the more common response to those things we come in contact with on a regular basis – even those things that should be an on-going source of happiness and blessing in our lives.

As you might recall, Lori’s “co-pilots” are a stuffed Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. While they’re not huge, they’re obviously big enough to be seen from outside the truck. Lori found that out yesterday afternoon when a husband-and-wife driving team from Texas – wearing matching Disney World t-shirts – came up to her truck while she was finishing her paperwork for the day.

They knocked on the door and said they were so excited to see Mickey and Minnie in the front seat. It seems they, their 3 children, and three of their children’s friends had spent last week at Disney World on vacation and they were still pumped up about the entire experience. Lori listened politely for awhile but after a bit she apologized and said she really needed to get some sleep after having driven so hard the past few days. She was also thinking to herself, “It’s just Disneyland; what’s the big deal?”

You see, having grown up in the shadow of the “Happiest Place on Earth,” both Lori and Mike had come to take Disneyland for granted. After all, we spent many of our teenage weekends, summers, and Christmas breaks in the park, both as visitors and employees. Many of our friends worked there. We took our children there regularly when they were younger, and eventually two of them worked there as well. In fact, our daughter Allison currently works at Disney’s California Adventure part-time while she goes to college. The Magic Kingdom was such an integral part of our lives that it simply wasn’t that big of a deal to us anymore.

After a good nap, Lori woke up to go have some dinner in the truck stop’s restaurant. While she was there, the Disney couple came in. “We saw you through the window,” they said. “Mind if we join you?” Lori said sure and the couple continued to relive their week at Disney World. They were so engaging and eager to share that Lori didn’t really mind hearing their stories. They are already making plans to go back again next year.

When Lori and Mike talked on the phone this morning about the episode, we began to understand how someone who’d never been to Disney World could actually be that excited about a trip there. It really is a great place. After all, nobody “does” theme parks better than Disney. They practically invented the concept and continue to come up with innovative and exciting ways to entertain literally millions of visitors. We looked back on what it “used to be like” for us, and the joy that our grandkids get when we take them to Disneyland nowadays. It isn’t that Disneyland has changed; it’s us.

That’s when Mike realized that the way he and Lori feel about Disneyland can, unfortunately, be a metaphor for so many other things in our lives – friends, family, each other, and our relationship with our Creator. Each of these things is so precious yet it’s so easy to take them for granted, to lose the sense of warmth and wonder they provide, because they’re always there and available.

Our prayer is that all of us continue to truly appreciate the “Disneylands” in our lives.